The present invention relates to an electronic wind instrument for electronically reproducing the blown sound of a natural wind instrument.
As is well known, an electronic wind instrument has operation elements imitating their counterparts of a natural wind instrument, such as breath inlet holes and operation keys. When breath is blown into the instrument via the breath inlet hole, a pitch is determined in accordance with fingering that is a combination of depression of the performance key and the blowing of a breath. Blown sound whose level corresponds to the pressure of the breath blown in through a breath inlet hole is synthesized and produced at the thus-determined pitch.
Attempts have hitherto been made to detect the style of rendition unique to the natural wind instrument called a “resonance mode change” and to realize an electronic music wind instrument capable of electronically reproducing the sound blown pursuant to the style of rendition.
The “resonance mode change” means the style of rendition for a musical instrument which does not have performance keys used for switching an octave, as in the case of a flute. Under this style of rendition, movements of the lower lip called “embouchure” for blowing breath are subtly changed, to thus control an octave, or the like, of blown sound with fingering being fixed. Sometimes, the resonance mode change is also called an “overblow,” an “octave switching,” a “lip slur,” and the like.
JP-A-7-199919 discloses an electronic wind instrument capable of intricately detecting the resonance mode change. The electronic wind instrument described in JP-A-7-199919 detects the direction of inflow of blown breath by a plurality of breath pressure detection sensors discretely arranged in the breath inlet holes. After the current resonance mode has been specified by a detected direction, a sound source is instructed to produce an output of a musical sound signal of a pitch complying with the resonance mode.
However, as mentioned previously, the performer of a natural wind instrument performs a resonance mode change by subtly altering the manner of moving the lower lip rather than intentionally changing the direction of blowing of breath. Therefore, in the case of JP-A-7-199919 which relates to mere application of the blowing direction of breath to detection of a resonance mode, a discrepancy arises between the performer's intention and actually-output sound, to thus result in a failure to achieve superior performance operability.